Panasonic's $4 billion Kansas battery plant finally opens, but could it be coming online at a worse time?

Frank White pictures another stadium plan, but I thought we had two teams.

Why?

There's no funding for the Royals in his latest push.

Area schools are ringing alarm bells as the white House withholds more than $6 billion in education funding.

How will it affect back to school where you live?

Also this week, get ready for cheaper beer and bars open 24 hours a day.

Just one of the measures signed into law by a busy Mike keel this week.

Missouri governor also praised for slashing the tax on diapers and tampons, but time for repealing paid sick leave for workers.

Physician A was put together by several million dollars without state interest, and was nobody in Missouri who brought that bill to the ballot.

Those stories and the rest of the week's news straight ahead.

Week in review is made possible through the generous support of Dave and Jamie Cummings, Bob and Marlese Gourley, the Courtney S Turner Charitable Trust, John H. Mize and Bank of America and a co trustees, the Francis Family Foundation through the discretionary fund of David and Janice Francis and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome.

Glad to have you back with us.

I hope you survived this week of flash floods, water rescues and record breaking rains.

Some of our viewers getting six weeks worth of rain in just a few hours.

Well, here to dissect the rest of the week's most impactful, confusing, and downright head scratching local news stories, KCUR's Lisa Rodriguez, former star reporter Dave Helling from the world of television news Kshb.

Charlie Keegan and tracking the region's top political stories for KCUR News Brian Ellison.

Now we start in Kansas this week where after three years of construction, Panasonic's full billion dollar battery plant is finally open.

State and local leaders joined with Japanese officials this week in a ribbon cutting at the DeSoto base facility.

For Panasonic, as you heard, this is the largest factory we've ever built in 107 year history.

So that's huge.

And then for Kansas, it's the biggest investment they've ever had.

Well, actually the project is jam packed with superlatives.

Largest electric vehicle battery plant in the world according to some reports.

Largest building in Kansas.

But could it be happening at a worse time?

Panasonic has announced it's dialing back full production at the Kansas plant due to dropping electric car sales, a new Trump administration policies that send green energy tax credits, and the 7500 dollars rebate that has encouraged thousands of Americans to make that switch.

Is it just a short term blip or a worrying sign for the future?

Lisa.

Well, it's certainly not an ideal situation to be opening this massive battery plant.

As you've said, we've gone from years of creating incentives for this kind of stuff to kind of an immediate end to all kinds of incentives for this.

That said, officials and industry leaders have all said they do expect, EV production to continue.

and despite the fact that I think they kind of have to say that I do think that that the industry as a whole is still moving toward more production of electric vehicle, but I don't think it's going to be the immediate win that we think.

We always told 4000 jobs coming to the plant.

as of this week, we weren't at that target where we know we're closer to about 1100 jobs at that plant.

But granted, only one of eight possible production lines are up and running right now, so there's time and room to add more people.

It was definitely all good news, though.

On Monday's grand opening, no one was talking about, you know, the the problems that we might have.

They were trying to be as positive as possible.

What about the fact that, you know, this was the feather in the cap for Laura Kelly as governor of Kansas, the biggest economic development project in the history of the state.

She wasn't even there at the event.

We had the lieutenant governor there.

Can we read anything into that, Dave?

Well, you can probably read into it that Dave Toland will be a candidate for governor or that they are pushing him to run for governor because he's taking campaign video footage.

Right.

The perfect place for campaign video.

He can take some credit for this project.

Laura Kelly is trying, in some ways to move back in the public's eye a little bit as her term comes to an end.

Although there was an extraordinary piece in the New York Times this week applauding her approach to governance in Kansas, which I found interesting.

But I think the idea is that Dave Toland, who has not declared for governor and appears to be a little on the fence about the idea, is being pushed by someone or maybe his own people to be a little bit more in the public's eye in projects like this.

Brian, remember that development is actually in Dolan's job description, that he's the commerce secretary for the state as well as lieutenant governor.

So it's not so surprising.

But here's the thing about this, Nick, I think the this is an excellent example of why these long term massive tax incentive and development funding credits programs are always risky.

You just don't know what's going to happen.

This started years ago and it started under a Democratic administration.

It started when renewable energy sources were all all the rage and on the rise.

And you just don't know how political fortunes and, world events are going to change the needs, the state of Kansas, it's too early to say there's a real problem here, but but if there turns out to be in the long run, Kansas may be learning a difficult lesson about, about awarding these massive tax incentives, which is why it's so important that deals like this have clawback provisions that if you don't fulfill the promises you make, that the state will get some of its incentives back.

And there are some clawbacks in this proposal and other similar economic development proposals.

That hasn't always been the case.

Kansas City, the city of Kansas City particularly, has had problems with making sure that all of its investments can be clawed back if projects don't come to fruition.

But it's too early to far too early, I think, to panic over this plan.

Well, now that he could be ousted from office in a recall election, Jackson County Executive Frank white is trying to rescue his legacy by hatching a new plan to keep the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Notice I didn't mention the Royals while staying at his sales tax proposal would give a third of the cash to the Chiefs, a third to be used for fixing up the Jackson County Courthouse and a third pot to public health, more specifically to help former Truman Medical Center, now known as University Health, to fill health funding gap left by Trump administration cuts.

And look closely and you'll see that the $0 going to the Royals.

Charlie, why has Frank white given up on them?

Well, I don't know if he's giving up on them.

If they've given up on him, how who's to blame and all that.

But there's there's some decades of bad blood, maybe between the royals and Frank white.

And obviously, last April, this election didn't help smooth any of that over.

you got to give Frank white credit for getting creative here.

He's always said that Jackson County carries too much of the burden for the teams.

And he feels like this is a way to kind of reward Jackson County for its years of, support for the team's finances.

One little pearl nugget, at least in this whole story, was to see that Frank white acknowledging that he has had no meetings whatsoever with the Royals since that failed vote.

What is that?

15 months ago, not one single meeting.

And but why would the Royals be motivated to meet with Frank white at this point, when they've got so many other options?

Kansas City has put itself forward as being very willing to work with the Royals on this.

They have, lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri that both worked, some faster than others to get packages put together for the Royals as well.

So I think right now there hasn't been a necessity to deal with Frank white.

And if they're going to deal with the county, might as well go through the legislature as well, which has also made itself known as being much more willing to negotiate.

And with the right amount of votes, can overturn whatever the executive confusingly on this, Dave, is that you got three different pots of money, and apparently, according to the language, you have to have three different ballot questions.

Can't have just one.

So it's some of them pass and others don't.

I mean, this is seem to be incredibly complicated, which is why, Frank white has suggested that the legislature next winter, in January or February, pursue legislation that would allow him to put all of those in one ballot question.

There may be some wisdom in that.

I mean, the original tax proposal for the Truman Sports Complex was actually a part of a much bigger public works package that went to voters in the 1960s.

So the idea that, hey, if you don't like the stadiums, at least you can get some help for public health or some of these other items may have some, some, wisdom in it.

on the other hand, it comes kind of late in the game.

I do think that that the Royals, for whatever it's worth, Nick, have been negotiating on the Missouri side with the Clay County folks and with with, with Quinton Lucas and Kansas City.

They really did cut Frank white out of this.

And perhaps they feel, Brian, that they can wait, Frank white out.

Not only is that all the talk, of course, about the recall election, but there was a press conference this week to among, activists to see the immediate resignation of Frank white.

Right.

I think it's very difficult to to see this proposal from Frank white completely apart from the broader political context of what's happening in Frank White's life right now, his political life.

the recall effort is in full swing.

Whether that election is sooner or later, the reality is that anything he is proposing right now has to be seen in that light.

And let's not forget that the reaction to this proposal has been, I would say, tepid at best.

The Chiefs did not come out and say, yes, we'd love to have the full, third of the 3% tax.

They, they, they were much more measured in their response.

And of course, even Governor Kehoe, who has called for local support for any stadium plan that goes forward, said, that's very that's very interesting.

We do think it's important that Jackson County get, tax relief and fair property taxes.

He chose to bring that into his statement in response.

So I would not say that this plan is, is on a fast trajectory to approve, given all of the complications with this, could this play into the hands of, dare I say it, Clay County?

And I did see the governor was just in town.

signing the Clay County Sports Authority bill that will allow them to sort of start that process of bringing a stadium to that county.

Is that just wishful thinking, or is that seriously now on some form of fast track, Charlie?

Well, I think that, yep, folks in Clay County have to be excited about what they're seeing here in Jackson County and thinking that puts them a little bit more in a driver's seat.

But but let's be clear, there has to be a local component, has to be under the Missouri statute, to proceed with the Missouri subsidy.

That's either Clay County, presumably through voters with the sales tax, or in Jackson County, some local component of which Frank White's idea might play a role.

Now, you know, there might be another way to do it, but Jackson County has to come up with some, a bit of money that presumably would have to go to voters.

That's why I think for whatever it's worth, Nick, the Kansas options seem to be rising, in the eyes of the Chiefs and the Royals, precisely because they don't have to go to voters again.

And I think they were really we're beginning to understand that the teams are very upset about the outcome of the April 2024 vote and believe that they have to if they can avoid another, trip to the ballot box.

And that's what the problem is with all of the, Missouri options at this point.

Okay.

I mentioned, Governor Mike Kehoe.

He has been exceedingly busy this week.

He was also signing a repeal of that voter approved paid sick leave law.

He says it's about saving businesses.

It was put together by several million dollars of out-of-state interests.

It was nobody in Missouri who brought that bill to the ballot.

It was bought and put on our ballot.

But this might not be the end of the matter.

Hold the front page.

Apparently, we're learning of a new push to put the issue back on the ballot by making it a constitutional amendment instead of a proposition, and so lawmakers can't undo it if that's the case, why, Lisa, didn't organizers just do that the first time around?

I think passing a constitutional amendment, the issue with that is that it creates a very messy and complicated state constitution.

And, so the and this is just another example of lawmakers of the governor undoing the will of the people.

We just heard Mike Kehoe say that it was outside interests that brought it to the ballot.

It still required a signature from hundreds of thousands of Missouri residents to get it to the ballot, and then passed by the vote of Missouri of a majority of the state here.

And so this is it's just another example of many examples of the legislature undoing this process by which people can get things to the ballot and will probably indicate another push by the Missouri legislature to make that power, to make that harder to do in Missouri.

By the way, you know, the governor said it was about saving businesses.

Did we did we see hordes of businesses in Missouri depart, go to Kansas, other places as a result of that paid sick leave amendment going into a meeting by voters?

Not immediately, but we know organizations like the Missouri Chamber of Commerce or against this, and they felt like it was best for businesses to be able to set their own wages and be more in control of that.

We know Governor Kehoe is a small business owner, a car dealer for many years, and has definitely been a supporter of that kind of free enterprise, capitalism.

Well, Governor Kehoe also signed several other interesting bills into law this week, including eliminating the luxury tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products they considered luxuries.

Some sources say the tax would be totally eliminated, but it's just going to be reduced, right?

That's right.

from, four and a quarter or so percent, the luxury line to 2 to 1.

And a quarter, which is regular sales tax.

Now, also this week, Governor Kehoe tried to present himself as the friend of Missouri workers by cutting the tax on beer, which is already one of the lowest in the nation.

In addition, bars on the Missouri side of state line will also be able to stay open 24 hours a day when the World Cup arrives, thanks to a keyhole signed Bill this week.

Does that balance out taking away paid sick leave for workers?

Let's say you get cheaper beer and you can drink it in your favorite water watering hole into like three in the morning.

I don't I don't know that we can compare them equally there.

Certainly this is something that we expected to happen for the World Cup.

It's also something that will only happen for those two weeks during the World Cup.

So it's not quite a free for all yet.

Yeah, well, I think that the comment that the governor made as he signed the bill that this was out of state interest is the go to excuse for all the Republicans on anything they don't like.

And what we do know in Missouri is that the Republican Party does not like voter approved, measures.

They believe that they have the wisdom and voters are somehow duped by out of state interests or by campaigns or whatever.

My guess is it will almost certainly be back on the ballot as a constitutional amendment, and there will never again be, and this is important to understand, a statutory attempt through the initiative process, because the legislature can just discard it and it will.

So everything is going to end up in the Constitution area.

Schools are ringing alarm bells as the white House withholds more than $6 billion in education funding.

Staff are already hired, programs planned, and now districts across Kansas and Missouri aren't sure how to pay their bills after federal dollars didn't show up on payday without a lot of discussion of exactly why, whether we get the money eventually.

So at this point where it a little bit it's a little challenging to know how to react to it.

Now we're seeing a lot of these doom and gloom headlines about programs being cut.

We need to see the money restored quickly after the headlines appear.

What about this?

How is this going to effect back to school where we live?

Lisa?

Well, the programs that we're seeing cut are really targeting the most vulnerable population.

So schools right now are scrambling to try to reallocate money to to fund these programs.

But that will, of course spread other resources then.

So we're talking about programs for English language learners, for refugee students, for, after school care for adult learners.

But these are exactly the types of populations that this this administration is also targeting in many other ways.

And so it's just another another blow to these populations.

So might that explain then why, say, a K school district would see a $5 million hit with this while a suburban school district like a Shawnee Mission, which we just saw the quote from, or at least somewhat closer to $1 million, right.

Exactly what we see in those school districts, a lot more of those kind of vulnerable population and in the case, for example, a lot of immigrant students over there, and for school districts, it's just got to be more of the head scratching or more like the confusion that comes along with that.

Maybe it is harder to plan for than even just doing the work, you know, do we have the money or do we not have the money?

Yeah, but lots of people are feeling the heat, and certainly feeling cuts.

And we in public broadcasting have our own concerns.

As the Senate voted this week to rescind all of the money going into public broadcasting.

Lisa, it's it's, when we talk about the ways that the Trump administration is affecting lives in Kansas City, this is yet another example.

This, you know, for for Kcrw, for our station, we stand to lose about 500,000 a year, which goes toward all of our local programing, any of our news programing.

But even greater is the effect that this has on smaller stations that are less resourced in rural stations in Garden City, Kansas in Springfield, Missouri, where they simply cannot absorb the blow and where there is not enough, not as much of a robust media landscape there.

So not only does this mean potentially less quality news, less information, less accountability of our public officials in Kansas City.

For some areas of this country, it means no news.

for us, it's $1.5 million, which is about 13% of our budget.

Would you still appear on Kansas City month in review, Brian?

Well, I would consider it, Nick, if I can fit it into among the several other jobs I will have to work.

Now I'm taking that, but I but here's what I will say, Nick.

It.

This is often portrayed as a large national or ideological issue, but of course it is a local issue as well, as Lisa explained.

And and it also is voted on by people who represent local communities.

All four U.S. senators in Kansas and Missouri, the Republicans all voted to make these cuts.

While we are hearing then, of course, of cuts locally, Medicaid education, public broadcasting, we're cutting money there.

But it seems baffling this week that we are seeing truckloads of cash coming from Washington for the World Cup.

This week, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver announcing more than $600 million in federal cash to boost transportation security for World Cup games here next year because of money, to make, Kansas City and the United States, look fabulous, I believe it or not.

He says he's going to ask for more.

How come there's no shortage of money for this, but not for basic health and education?

There's always money for what you want to spend.

Money on.

And the World Cup, and this is one of them.

And they founded.

And if they don't have it in the tail, they'll just predict.

Perhaps we actually will need more money for security.

Now that you can drink 24 hours a day during the World Cup here.

And Kansas City leaders just found out some bad news that temporary jail they're trying to build won't be built in time for the World Cup, so there's going to be no place to jail.

People causing trouble during the biggest event in our history.

Charlie I know, right?

The soccer hooligans.

I get that nickname for a reason, right?

But I guess the city's looking at lots of different options for temporary jail.

They said that the the option on the eighth floor of City Hall is the one that won't be able to be complete till after the World Cup, but there is still possibility of building some, like modular container style holding cells on some land that the water department owns way out east by like 435 in Front Street.

So we'll see if that comes together, which sounds terrifying.

A container, system for alligator Alcatraz in Kansas City.

What we've been focused for the last couple of weeks on this program about this sort recall election of Frank White as Jackson County leader, voters in Wyandotte County, and going to the polls before then to pick a new mayor.

In fact, early voting starts next week.

Tyron Garner has made the surprise decision to not seek reelection.

There's a large group of candidates wanting to succeed him.

Can you remind us why he decided not to run for a second term?

He was, disappointed, if you will, about the difficulty in achieving political goals in a place like Wyandotte County and in essence, that I couldn't get done what I wanted to get done.

I felt like a figurehead to a bit.

And also, you know, his, you know, paper skin thin.

I mean, you know, he really resisted the criticism that he got in Wyandotte County.

And I think he just said, I don't need this anymore, particularly because of the background of the Roger case and alleged corruption in the police department that he was a part of.

It was just not his cup of tea.

Apparently, the huge field of candidates trying to replace him.

What is the biggest challenge for this next mayor?

I think it's going to end up being property taxes and services and managing all that.

There's so many people who feel like they're overtaxed.

And the county tried to cut taxes, but then ended up having to cut services and it's hard to imagine.

this is Garner will be the third in a string of single term mayors in Kansas City, Kansas.

And with a financial crisis, decades in the making and kind of an inability to make much progress on that, it's hard to imagine how someone can make any lasting change in just four years.

I will be looking forward to see if there is a candidate who can make it more than a single term, where we could actually have the possibility of seeing any kind of change and progress.

Early.

Voting is next week, and there will be within a week down to two candidates for the fall election.

By the way, remember last week we talked about that newly hatched plan to rename the new look Casey Airport after president Harry Truman.

Well, now it's getting serious.

The man met with airport officials this week about how to make the name change, before the throngs of World Cup fans heads here next year.

Is there a reason why they want to make that change so soon?

Do fans from London, Paris, Ecuador or Egypt care whether it's Kansas City International or Truman International?

Charlie I doubt it.

You know, I don't know.

I don't think about who Hartsfield-Jackson are when I fly into Atlanta.

So I probably yeah, I can't explain the urgency on all that.

It's really came out very quickly, the story and it's taking off.

But I'm what is that a hybrid here.

Just like we have got a field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Could this be Truman Terminal of KCI airport to have the best of both worlds?

Why stop there?

Why not just have corporate naming rights for the airport?

I put a company in front of it.

I, I do think if our good friend Eric Wesson were here, he might might suggest that there's another element here, which is that there are some other names that have been mentioned to get on that airport, including, for example, former mayor Sly James.

and there seems to be a concerted decision to not go that direction.

Perhaps that is a piece of, of going forward with this particular quickly.

And you mentioned earlier that the old Truman Medical Center is no longer named for Truman.

It's university health.

And last week we talked about the Truman Sports Complex not having Harry Truman's name.

I do think there is some community sense that a major, institution in Kansas City, other than the Truman Library, of course, needs to carry the Truman name.

And maybe that's behind some of this discussion about the air.

All right.

We've really worked hard this week to cover a lot, but we didn't get to the biggest story of the week, a massive Patrick Mahomes head being installed in the power and light district.

Saint Louis has its arch.

Can we finally say we've topped them?

It's not just a cold plunge in the shape of Patrick Mahomes hair.

It's the chillest place on earth.

It's my head.

Take the plunge.

July 19th at Kansas City Live.

That the biggest story we missed?

Would you be lining up to take a cold plunge into the Chiefs quarterback's ultra large noggin?

No.

Did you pick a completely different story, Charlie?

I know they probably assigned you.

They I think every reporter in town is going to be there.

So don't make any news on that day.

I'm going to stick with the Chiefs.

and our big news, they loaded up for spring their training camp this week.

You know, the season is upon us now.

And they start to go to Saint Joseph.

So they loaded all the chewing gum and weights and cleats and tracking devices and 11 semi-trucks and went to probably have Kshb helicopters traveling with those convoy of trucks getting into Saint Joseph.

Thank you for that story, Brian.

you mentioned it very briefly at the start of the show, Nick.

But I want to mention that flooding that happened, on Thursday morning, seemingly relatively unexpected.

Folks thought there would be some rain, but but the flood warnings came pretty quickly and without a lot of notice.

we see this more and more.

We obviously saw a much more tragic flooding in Texas, but one has to wonder if emergency management and local public safety agencies are going to have to sit down and say, this is happening a lot.

This is going to happen more often with climate change.

What are we doing to ensure that there won't need to be, as there were this week, dozens of water rescues?

Lisa, we'll go back to Wyandotte County for for just a moment.

On Wednesday night, commissioners in Wyandotte County in Kansas City, Kansas, voted to not continue with this revenue neutral budget that froze property taxes in 2025.

And so, 2026 residents are likely to see, property tax hikes again in a county where people have long complained about property taxes.

And so I think that one of the great stories now going on under the radar in our region is a debate over the best way to tax citizens to pay for government property taxes.

There will be a real effort in Kansas and in some ways in Missouri, to limit property tax, assessments and appraisals and the property tax revenue.

At the same time, in Missouri, there's discussion of ending the income tax and and Kansas is talking about further cuts in the income tax next year.

So there is a discussion going on about how do we raise money for government.

And nobody likes taxes, but somebody has got to pay money for police and fire and other things that are done.

And in our name, flood control is another example.

And that's will come to dominate, I think, through politics in 2026.

And on that we will say all week has been reviewed courtesy of Casey Laws, Lisa Rodriguez and Charlie Keegan from Kshb channel 41.

Casey was Brian Ellison and news icon Dave Helling, and I'm Nick Haines from all of us here at Kansas City PBS.

Be well, keep calm and carry on.